Sandy
by Tara Brookswell
Summary: The Titans find the perfect way to celebrate Cyborg's birthday. The dog they buy isn't quite the loveable fluff ball they expected though. She also seems to be hiding a dark past... First story in a while. Be gentle. Cy and OC. Rated for language. R&R!


Robin's usual battle cry rang out as the Teen Titans pursued one of their most legendary criminals as he attempted theft…again. But this time was quite different for the team. It wasn't Slade himself, but rather one of his newly revealed attack dogs. This one was quite strange, as it was a golden retriever. They were usually vicious pitbulls or Dobermans. It was quite out of the norm, but adorable or not, this dog had to go down. After all, he had committed a felony for Slade, and he was hurting innocent people.

"Titans: GO!" Robin's echo rang out, reverberating off the buildings. They all knew what they had to do to keep the mad man from getting his hands on anything destructive and hazardous. Though it was hard for them to do, they took the dog down. He was a tough fighter, but Robin was just too quick with his bow staff. The police thought of the dog as too dangerous to keep, so he was put down. The chronochip was safely returned to its owners at Wayne Enterprises.

Grumbling as always, Raven moaned, "Can we go home now?" Robin consented. A secretly excited team returned to the tower.

Everyone was in on the surprise, except for one: Cyborg. Today was Cyborg's nineteenth birthday, and his room was an uncharacteristic absolute mess. The four had drawn straws, and Starfire had been chosen by fate or something along those lines to help Cyborg tidy up the pigpen. She could hardly contain her excitement, as Star couldn't resist helping a friend in need. Everyone else quickly dispersed as Starfire tailed Cyborg.

He was curious, but left it alone for the moment; however, Cyborg drew his line when Star attempted to follow him into his room. "Uh, Starfire? You have your own room… This is _my _room. My space."

Smiling, Star said, "Yes, but it is the anniversary of your birth! I am helping you to celebrate by offering my assistance in the tidying of your…space!" As always, a grin stood prominent on her face.

Cyborg smiled back. "Alright then. But you asked for it, Star!" He opened his door all the way and revealed his mess. Junk was everywhere. Books and albums littered the floor. Car parts and other unidentified metal objects filled in the rest of the space. Cyborg's charger was almost completely hidden. "So if we want to get out by Christmas, we should probably get started," Cyborg said, moving towards a pile of parts. He grabbed a box and started throwing things in. Starfire floated above the mess, struggling to pick a place where she where could start. She settled on some books, stacking them in a neat pile in her arms.

Within a few hours, the floor was soon visible again. Starfire had most of the books (which were mostly video game guides, car manuals, and magazines of those natures) on shelves. Cyborg had every car part in a box, stowed away for safekeeping. Now, he had stumbled upon an album he preferred not to look through. Cyborg merely slid it across the floor, hoping it would just find a dark corner and stay there. But unfortunately, Starfire found it on the floor and started scanning through it.

In the album were pictures of a young boy and a yellow Labrador romping through a suburban yard. Upon closer examination, Starfire discovered the boy was Cyborg. He had the same glimmer to his eyes, and the same bright smile. "Cyborg, why do you run in this picture?" Star asked quietly.

Cyborg looked at Star. He could simply parry the question and say he didn't want to talk about it. But, that wasn't Cyborg. He sat down next to Star and talked her through the album. They came upon the last picture in the album. "And that's me, when I was fourteen. Two weeks before the accident. And my dog, Mojo." His tone grew hollow, sad even, as his statement concluded.

Starfire grew concerned. "Where is Mojo?" she asked innocently.

"He died. In the accident." Cyborg said nothing more.

Starfire grew quiet as well. "Oh, I am sorry."

Cy smiled and stood up, stretching. "Life moves on, huh? I'm gonna go work out for a while."

He quickly left the room, heading towards the gym in the tower, where Cyborg's _really_ big weights resided.

Starfire looked at the album a few moments more before closing it and floating solemnly from the room. Suddenly, she flew higher. An idea hatched in her mind. She soared to Robin's room, knocking quietly but excitedly on his door. "Robin! I have discovered a wonderful gift for Cyborg!"

Robin opened the door, looking at Star with a curious look. "What?" he asked.

Starfire explained what had happened as she helped clear the clutter from the floor of Cyborg's room. "So, we should try to find him a Mojo!" she concluded.

Robin pondered this for a minute. "That sounds like a good idea, actually. But I don't think we'll be able to find one just like Mojo. You and Raven stay here. Beast Boy and I will go see what we can find."

Starfire agreed and floated back to Cyborg's room to look through some more of his old photo albums.

Robin found Beast Boy and explained what was happening. Beast Boy liked the idea just as much. They headed down to the animal shelter, eager to see what they could find.


End file.
